1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rapidly erectable, protective enclosures, and more particularly, to a structure capable of being water tight and air tight and supported by a network of inflatable supports having superior strength and durability, which supports are individually repairable and replaceable from within the protective enclosure without sacrificing the operational framework or compromising the integrity of the enclosure as a whole.
2. Preliminary Discussion
Temporary shelters or enclosures are designed to be at least relatively rapidly deployable to protect occupants and their belongings from adverse or hostile environmental conditions. Campers and hikers, for example, rely on tents for protection from the rain, insects and the like. Such tents are usually lightweight, portable, easy to erect and break down, and constructed from materials particularly adapted for providing the necessary protection from all anticipated adverse conditions. A hiker's tent, for example, might be constructed primarily from waterproof material on the sides and bottom to shield the occupants from rain, storms and the like, yet have a sufficient amount of netting near the top to allow for the passage of air to and from the outside, with such netting being fine enough to keep even the most persistent insects from invading the enclosed area. A temporary, protective enclosure might, for example, also be constructed primarily from netting material if insects are a principal issue and the weather is not.
Temporary shelters or enclosures are, by their very nature, generally not indestructible, and are designed to withstand considerably less abuse than a so-called "brick and mortar" construction. Portable shelters involve a balance of transportability and protection, with the least amount of protection usually afforded to the shelter with the greatest amount of portability or transportability. Of course, the concepts of portability and protection are highly relative, depending on whether occupants are a pair of hikers traversing the mountain wilderness for two weeks, or a team of doctors desiring to establish a temporary, decontamination unit in the parking lot of a corporation for employee victims exposed to a spill or chemical disaster.
Regardless of its nature, anyone using or administrating the continued operation of a temporary shelter or enclosure should be equipped with or have available some means of repair in response to breakage or an unforeseen destructive incident. In certain situations, failure to repair a temporary shelter may have serious consequences, particularly if the occupants are relying on the integrity of the shelter to shield them from potentially life-threatening environmental hazards. Temporary enclosures for military application are often concerned with a level of protection extending far beyond pesky insects, involving protection from chemical and biological warfare, nuclear radiation and fallout, and traditional ordnance hazards, for example, projectile blasts, flying shrapnel and debris, which makes the ability to successfully repair a shelter a top, if not a life and death priority.
Portable shelters or enclosures having diverse military field application must be designed to effectively withstand many of the above mentioned chemical, biological, nuclear and ordnance-type hazards. While fabric tents or sandbag bunkers might be sufficient for certain situations, such shelters would be woefully inadequate as a means to protect soldiers from microscopic warfare agents, i.e. biological, chemical or the like agents. Traditional fabric and other military-type tents also suffer from their inability to be quickly deployed or deployable, usually involving considerable efforts during erection by a team of soldiers, particularly when the frame of the tent comprises multiple rigid supports anchored by multiple stakes and lines. An effective temporary and portable shelter, particular for military application, would be able to not only shield the occupants from particularly hazardous environmental conditions, but would also be rapidly deployable in response to emergency situations where lives are at risk and every moment counts, and also rapidly and effectively repairable so that any breach in the integrity of the enclosure can be rapidly and effectively rectified from within the enclosure, without requiring the repair person to risk exposure to outside hazardous environmental conditions.
The present inventor has perceived a need to provide a protective enclosure that is particularly suited for both military and non-military applications, that is rapidly deployable in response to emergent conditions, that is easily transportable without sacrificing protective sturdiness, and is easily repairable from within the enclosure. The present inventor has designed a protective enclosure that utilizes an inflatable, structural framework of high strength, sturdiness, and versatility, that is encased in a protective membrane that shields the occupants and their belongings from adverse and hostile environmental conditions, such as weather-related, chemical, biological, nuclear and ordnance-type hazards, such as artillery fire and the like, and that is further repairable from the inside of the enclosure so as to minimize or prevent exposure to such adverse or hostile environmental conditions during any such repair. The structural framework is preferably created from a plurality of individual tubular supports disposed in a spaced apart relationship and inflated under high pressure conditions, which transforms such tubes into so-called "air beams," making the framework extremely sturdy as compared with conventional inflatable tent structures, which are almost invariably inflated under low pressure conditions. Each tubular support is individually removable and replaceable without sacrificing the inflation integrity of the framework as a whole. Furthermore, the protective membrane that encases the inflatable framework is designed to create an air-tight environment within the enclosure, which enables use of the enclosure, incorporated with lifesupport means, in even the most hostile and hazardous environmental conditions.
The rapidly deployable enclosure of the present invention represents an advance over prior art inflatable structures not seen before. Conventional prior art enclosures are generally inflatable under low pressure conditions, i.e. one to ten pounds per square inch, which tends to be sufficient to only establish and maintain the framework in a freestanding condition. The enclosure of the present invention is inflatable under high pressure conditions, which has the benefit of increased strength and sturdiness, and transforms the inflatable framework into a network of beam-like structures of considerable rigidity. These beam-like frame supports of the present invention have the added benefit of being separately manipulatable within the structural framework, so as to be individually replaceable and repairable without sacrificing the operation and stability of the framework as a whole. The rapidly deployable enclosure of the present invention is also capable of modular operation in an interconnected fashion with other rapidly deployable enclosures to form a system or complex of modularly arranged, enclosed units. Each enclosed unit in the system could function in a distinct manner, depending on the needs of the occupants and system administrator, and each unit could therefore be equipped with unique services having distinct functionalities. A typical use might, for example, involve decontamination services, where an occupant might proceed in stages through a modular arrangement of protective enclosures and experience successively greater levels of decontamination with the passage through each successive enclosure unit.
3. Description of Related Art
The prior art is replete with temporary structures and shelters of the inflatable type, which are relatively rapidly deployable. The prior art does not, however, disclose a versatile, inflatable enclosure having replaceable, beam-like structural supports, and further capable, through air-tight means of protecting the occupants of such enclosure from a variety of hostile and adverse environmental conditions. Some examples of prior art inflatable structures are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,769 to Schaefer et al. discloses a hemispheric shelter comprised of interconnected inflatable air chambers initially inflated with air and then filled with a flowable, plastic substance that hardens with time. The rib-like structural framework is entirely interconnected, and each rib like unit is not individually replaceable or repairable. The Schaefer et al. tent is also not easily collapsible, since the hardened composition present within the interconnected chambers is not easily transformable back into a liquid or bottled, transportable substance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,435 to Polise et al. discloses a hemispheric shelter having inflatable wall and floor sections that are only patch-like repairable, not replaceable, as with the inflatable tubular supports of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,762 to Wayman discloses a framework of inflatable support tubes arranged in an interconnected fashion and fed by a single air source. The inflatable air tubes are interconnected, such that a breach in the integrity of any of the support tubes would cause the entire unit to loose air pressure and eventually collapse.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,597 to Healey discloses an interconnected decontamination shelter system having a rigid, structural framework that is neither modularly interconnectible with other units nor rapidly, inflatingly deployable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,829 to Mattick discloses a tent having a system of interconnected tubes inflatable through a single, central manifold. The tubes are situated along the outside of the tent structure and attached to the tent wall panels by sections of flange-like material. The Mattick support tubes are particularly susceptible to external environmental conditions, not easily repairable or replaceable from within the tent, and a breach in the integrity of one of the support tubes would cause the entire unit to lose air pressure and eventually collapse.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,481 to Seeley, Jr. discloses a shelter having individually inflatable chambers or air cells formed within the shelter walls. The individually inflatable cells form ribs that create the framework of the shelter. Each rib is connected to a one-way valve that prevents a loss in air pressure to the entire framework upon the occurrence of a loss in air pressure to one of the cells or ribs. The Seeley, Jr. inflatable cells are not, however, individually replaceable without breaching the integrity of the tent surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,897 to Ritchey et al. discloses a system of modularly interconnected tents joined by connection modules. The Ritchey et al. system does not incorporate rapidly deployable and inflatable tent structures, nor does it provide a level of protection sufficient to shield occupants from microscopic or microbiological contaminants.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,707 to Caruso discloses a bladder enclosed within a fabric covering that is further riveted on both ends and capable of serving as a construction device or member. Caruso discloses construction of a goal post, soccer goal or fence post, using high pressure construction members, but does not disclose an inflatable tent structure having construction members that are individually repairable or replaceable. The Caruso construction members also have riveted end caps that are permanently attached to the inflatable tubes, making repair or replacement of such tubes or their individual parts in the field a virtual impossibility.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,919 to Kano et al. discloses a portable, inflatable enclosure for providing a suitable breathing environment for persons with allergies and the like. A positive pressure within the enclosure purges the enclosure of unwanted allergens and provides a steady supply of filtered air. The Kano et al. structure is composed of individually inflatable wall sections that form the inside and outside surfaces of the enclosure, which limits the repair of any one of the wall sections to a simple patch, making replacement of individual wall sections a virtual impossibility absent replacement of the entire structure.
The prior art discloses a variety of inflatable enclosures that serve as temporary protective environments. None of the prior art structures, however, employ a rapidly inflatable, structural framework akin to that of the present invention, and more particularly, none of the prior art structures disclose a rapidly deployable construction having inflatable, beam-like supports that are individually replaceable and/or repairable from within the protective enclosure. Further, none of the prior art references show or disclose a rapidly deployable enclosure capable of creating an air-tight environment for the prevention of microscopic contaminants from invading such environment. The rapidly deployable protective enclosure of the present invention provides a unique structure having particular military appeal, although non-military use is also contemplated, with a substantially rigid framework provided by inflatable structural support members that are individually repairable and replaceable from within the protective enclosure.